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Margaux Kearney's picture

Brain and Addiction

Submitted by Margaux Kearney on Sun, 02/03/2008 - 2:01pm.
We know that neurons are tiny input/output boxes and that their arrangement dictates a person's behavior. Will a chemical input (stimulus) with addictive properties such as drugs, addictive substances in food or tobacco 1) "alter" the existing arrangement of neurons? 2) alter the arrangement of neurons for everybody? 3) alter it the same way for everybody? then produce an identical addicted behavior (output) with identical neuron re-arrangement (erasing initial neuronal different arrangerments), or will it react /lock into a specific arrangementt of neurons to produce different behavioral responses (output)? My underlying question is: is there a factor beyond the "system" that plays a role in shaping the output?

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